Jeremy Brown

Last year, Brown repeated a season at Double-A Midland, which is never a good sign, but he did show modest improvement over his .718 OPS in 2004. John Baker's poor season at Triple-A Sacramento opens the door again for Brown to assume the role of catcher of the future, though Kurt Suzuki lurks in the shadows as well.

The much-hyped Moneyball prospect continues to draw walks but doesn't show any power. It's debatable now if Brown or John Baker, not to mention 2004 first-rounder Landon Powell, is the A's catcher of the future after Brown posted a poor .718 OPS at Double-A Midland (Baker, 15 months younger, posted an .833 OPS). Both played in the AFL, with Brown getting the upper hand, but the A's will have an extra year or two to figure out what they want to do behind the plate following the trade for Jason Kendall.

One of Billy Beane's Moneyball picks from the 2002 amateur draft. Brown drew walks but showed only moderate power at Double-A. The trade of Ramon Hernandez opens up a spot behind the plate for the A's, but look for a veteran plug-in for 2004 before Brown gets his first chance in 2005.

First round pick of the A's in June, his pro debut showed promise as he flashed power and patience. Of course, the last A's college catcher to have a solid pro debut was A.J Hinch, and we all know how that turned out. Keep an eye on him in keeper leagues, as he's the likely heir apparent to Ramon Hernandez in Oakland.